The public relations arm of those who are supposed to be legally and ethically responsible for vaccine safety published “Clear Answers and Smart Advice About Your Baby’s Shots,” by Dr. Ari Brown.

“Clear Answers” is anything but. Is this dishonesty? How can it be ignorance? Aren’t these people supposed to be “experts”? How comprehensively misleading and untrue is this? Are these people “pulling the wool” over your eyes? Decide for yourself.

Published today is a detailed response by Dr Andrew Wakefield and colleagues supported by 20 child health safety organisations. We publish edited extracts below. You can read the full 16 page printed paper here.

Wakefield is the British medical doctor who put child health safety before his career and has been hounded by big money ever since.

In an interview with Richard Halvorsen for his book The Truth about Vaccines, one of the lead authors of the Cochrane Collaboration’s review of MMR vaccine safety said, “The safety studies of MMR vaccine are crap. They’re the best crap we have but they’re still crap“.

Follow the money.

Brown is an official spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Brown’s “Clear Answers” is endorsed and published by the Immunization Action Coalition (IAC), a US organization funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the vaccine manufacturers. Given this background, any reasonable person might expect a comprehensive, well researched, and persuasive overview.

Wakefield et al say:-

Informed consent is a crucial element of the foundation upon which ethical medical practice rests. Providing patients, parents, or guardians with an honest assessment of the risks and benefits of any medical procedure not only requires the healthcare provider to be, to the best of his or her ability, “informed” of all of the risks and benefits but also requires said provider to neutrally convey all of the risks and benefits to the patients, parents, or guardians.

Since the topic of vaccination is so important and because we have major concerns about the accuracy of much of what this document says, we are providing a point-by-point response.

Follow the money? Are the 20 organisations which endorse Wakefield’s response concerned about your child’s health safety or about supporting big business and the pharmaceutical industry?

Here are some edited extracts of Dr Brown’s claims and of Wakefield’s response:-

BROWN: “I’ve heard autism is on the rise. Why?”

Brown’s explanation: “Displacing one diagnosis for another: In previous generations, many children were diagnosed with …. some other …. disorder. Today many of these same kids are diagnosed with severe autism.”

But what Brown says is not supported by the scientific evidence. It has been retracted, disavowed, or falsified in previous scientific studies. One study was so badly wrong they had to withdraw and state instead that “diagnostic substitution does not appear to account for the increased trend in autism prevalence“.

BROWN: “The definition of autism has changed over the years. …. By expanding the definition of autism, suddenly many more kids were declared autistic…”

Incorrect. …. autism diagnostic criteria were narrowed in 1994 ….. Despite this, the dramatic increase in numbers of children with both autism and non-autistic spectrum disorders has continued.

BROWN: “Unfortunately, many states don’t break out where kids are on the autism spectrum …. so it’s hard to get solid numbers.”

Incorrect. California’s autism numbers are provided by the Department of Developmental Services, based on DSM criteria. In order to be eligible …… a professional diagnosis is required. California data exclude those with Asperger’s … and all … non-autistic PDD diagnoses [16].

BROWN: “Better awareness, better and earlier diagnosis: More people ….are on the lookout for children with autism.”

Not in California. To reduce the number of new autism diagnoses, the state government in 2003 changed the eligibility criteria to exclude children who could tie their shoelaces. Despite this children with autism fail this ill-conceived test and continue to flood into the system in record numbers.

BROWN: “…. autism is on the rise. Why? Because …… Today, kids are diagnosed as early as 18 months of age. This adds many more kids to the rolls …

Wrong. Earlier diagnosis has no impact on the number in a group born in any particular year. Children will eventually be diagnosed. By the age of 10, children with autism would be diagnosed whether they were born in 1980 or 1990. California data show autism numbers were greater by a factor of over sevenfold in 2000 compared with 1989.

A new study dispels the myth that the rise isn’t real and indicates “research should shift from genetics to the host of chemicals and infectious microbes in the environment that are likely at the root of changes in the neurodevelopment of California’s children” “It’s time to start looking for the environmental culprits responsible for the remarkable increase in the rate of autism in California,” said UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute researcher Irva Hertz-Picciotto, a professor of environmental and occupational health and epidemiology, and an internationally respected autism researcher.

BROWN: “recent legislation led to schools labeling more kids as autistic”

Brown is wrong. US law was amended in 1990 to require that autism be counted and reported separately because it was rising faster than all other covered disabilities. The change did not cause the epidemic; it was because of it.

BROWN: “Unfortunately, there are very few incidence studies of autism.”

Wrong. Several incidence studies are available, and they show a rise.

BROWN: “Today …. parents are more willing to accept an ASD diagnosis. And the diagnosis now allows for special education services, which many parents realize can help their child.”

If the numbers have always been this high, where are all the autistic adults, whom some call the “Hidden Horde”.

BROWN: “These are possible explanations ….. but we don’t have all the answers yet. The bottom line: in the 1980’s, one in 10,000 kids were diagnosed with autism. Today, it’s one in 150. ”

In 2009 this “1 in 150” number is likely to be considerably higher. Brown bases her statement on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) …. from six years ago on eight-year-old children ….. on February 7, 2007 the CDC promised to publish an update. Two years later and this data has not yet been published or released.

In 1992 there were 15,580 affected children recorded in the US public education system. 14 years later there were 224,594 children. The autism pandemic is real.

BROWN: “Okay, so what causes autism? ….. We know genetics plays a role. Studying twins is an obvious way to detect genetic disorders.

BROWN: “…. it appears that autism is caused by several different genetic defects, although researchers haven’t quite figured out the puzzle yet.”

“Haven’t quite,” unfortunately means “nowhere near.” While specific genetic deficiencies associated with autism are well documented, such deficiencies are rare and cannot explain more than a very small proportion of ASD cases. The genetics of autism has been studied extensively, at huge cost, for precious little return.

BROWN: “Abnormal brain growth”

Wrong. Abnormal brain growth is not a cause of autism. Brown herself wrote in 2004, “One interesting study…tied autism to abnormal head growth in infants under a year of age. While this is not the cause of autism …

BROWN: environmental exposure

US Government officials, including Dr. Tom Insel, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health and Chair of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, and an emerging scientific consensus, agree that autism is caused by environmental triggers in children with undetermined genetic susceptibility.

There are known and widely accepted environmental causes of autism ranging from pre-birth exposure to thalidomide, the anti-seizure medication sodium valproate, and rubella virus (German measles) Postnatal exposure to neurotoxins, and viral infections including rubella, measles and herpes viruses, cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus have been causally linked to autistic syndromes. Specifically, measles and measles-containing vaccines and vaccines “unspecified” have also been causally linked BY formal research to childhood developmental disorders, including ASD and developmental regression.

BROWN: “What about vaccines? the scientific evidence does not support this theory. Research during the past ten years has …. found conclusive evidence that vaccine exposure is NOT the turn-on switch for autism.”

Wrong. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) hosted a two-day conference in April, 2007, “Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research”. The workshop discussed environmental causes, including vaccines, and suggested a list of related research opportunities.

And here on ChildHealthSafety you can read of US Federal Court cases where it was decided that vaccines, including MMR, caused autism. In one case says it all. The Judgement records that the US Department of Health and Human Services had no alternative explanation beyond “Unconfirmed speculation by a few treating doctors, as with Dr. Wiznitzer’s hypothesization“:

Dr. Neal Halsey, one of the architects of US vaccine policy—now seemingly awake—when asked by parent advocates at a public meeting why they would even give a newborn infant with no risk factors a vaccine for a disease predominantly of intravenous drug abusers and the sexually promiscuous (hepatitis B), answered “Because we can”.

You can read the rest of the document yourself to see Brown’s claims thoroughly demolished. One part of the remainder stands out in particular regarding vaccine safety:-

BROWN “Before a vaccine is approved for use by the government, its safety is extensively studied. These studies look at how kids respond to the vaccine. And so-called ‘combo’ vaccines that incorporate several shots at once also consider the combined effect.”

The Cochrane Collaboration, an internationally respected body that provides independent scientific oversight. wrote, “The design and reporting of safety outcomes in MMR vaccine studies, both pre and postmarketing is largely inadequate“. But in an interview with Richard Halvorsen for his book The Truth about Vaccines, one of the lead authors of the Cochrane review left no doubt as to his true feelings when he said, “The safety studies of MMR vaccine are crap. They’re the best crap we have but they’re still crap“.

In the US the official diagnostic definition of what we call “Autism Spectrum Disorders” or ASD are instead called “Pervasive Development Disorders” or PDD for short. That is under the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edn)” or “DSM IV” for short.

“Autistic Spectrum Disorder” is the term applied internationally under the “ICD” or “International Classification of Disease”

Many refer to ASD and PDD as “autism” but “autism” is a subset of the spectrum and is often referred to also as “childhood autism”, “typical autism” and “Kanner autism”. [The common behaviours like hand flapping, loss of eye contact and suchlike in young children are unmistakable, whereas other spectrum disorders like mild Aspergers Syndrome can be more difficult to diagnose.]

28 Responses

THE doctor who sparked the scare over the safety of the MMR vaccine for children changed and misreported results in his research, creating the appearance of a possible link with autism, a Sunday Times investigation has found.

Confidential medical documents and interviews with witnesses have established that Andrew Wakefield manipulated patients’ data, which triggered fears that the MMR triple vaccine to protect against measles, mumps and rubella was linked to the condition

I believe mercury lowers the immune system’s ability to fight infection,allowing for live virus vaccines to act in a way we can’t measure. Measles will alter the immune system as well, one of the very well described side effects is ear infection, suggesting a lowered immune system prone to “secondary infection”. Meanwhile, what is the rubella portion of the three jab doing? I believe the rubella portion of the shot causes autism. It caused it when we had the pandemic of 1964 and it causes it now. Thimerasol/measles gives the rubella an unknown free reign . I’m trying to recall how long bayer fought against the “reyes risk” labeling for baby aspirin. One company I suppose didn’t have the power these new pharmco’s have. However they called the studies junk science for at least four years. When you read, “junk science” beware, it’s been used for years in an attempt to stomp out the truth!
Can a child be born with autism and later show more regression, I would think it’s possible, this group of children are born to the younger generation of heavily vaccined moms. Who knows what rubella is doing inside the vaccinated moms, perhaps attacking the unborn child’s brain, only to be “boosted” at fifteen months to finish the job. Surely, the reason most studies don’t show a causal effect is because they are lying, or they are looking at single causes, which isn’t the case, it’s synergy at work. Who are the control groups, vaccinated children ,fighting their own ,perhaps less degree of injury? I would think at the rate of this explosion we will soon HAVE autistic children in the majority, they will be the “normal”. I need someone else to do the math, but it looks like it’s coming so quickly , perhaps another twenty years. A new breed. SCI_FI scary!! ,There is no cure, I don’t buy that for a minute, as there was no cure for the damaged children in 1964.

I agree with Dr. Wakefield my youngest of three children did’n get the vaccines. The older two are not as healthy as my youngest today. As they were growing up my oldest had all the vaccines and she is the sickly one. My second child had only a few due to the fact I investigated the shots. IM sorry I didn’t know this information sooner. Also want to thank Dr. Andrew Westfield and other doctors informing parents of the danger of having your children take the vaccines. In fact my youngest played with other children during the time one of her friendshad the mumps. No she did not get the mumps!

Dr Wakefield established a link between vaccines and gastro intestinal health.
The digestive system contains the greatest diversity of DNA much of which is not human but resides within the gut. Anything that pollutes this aquatic garden and causes a loss of diversity, impinges on the system’s ability to break down foods. These defficiencies in turn reduce the capacity for all metaboic function, especially those that are more sensative to toxins (brain, central nervous and endocrine systems.
Basic common sense demonstrates the toxicity of lead, but when the eugenics movement seek to put a more poisonous soft metal into infants, they do so only by falsifying the resultant effects.
I personally suspect, that every single child vaccinated, will develope disease in both the short and long term.
This is supported by an examination of populations that have managed to stay outside the influence of WHO & the UN. Average life spans are greater and there are distinct absences of the pandemic of immunodefficient diseases & cancers.
120 trillion cells, all working in perfect harmony, until the injection of universal toxins combined with materials designed to create an immune response.
And they claim it is beneficial! Utterly incredible

keep up your good work dr wakefield , it comes as no surprise to me that you have been found guilty of ‘professional misconduct’ & branded a ‘liar’ by the establishment , because it (the establishment) cant tolerate dissent in the ranks , therefore the outcome of your ‘court marshall’ was a foregone conclusion , to protect the stability of the pharmco’s income , to ensure the continuence of the entire immunisation experiment (similar to the iraq war veterans , and this governments denial of them being maimed by the cocktail of drugs administered ) and note that this country historically denies liability of its mistakes long after the rest of the planet concedes ( eg , shellshock , denied as a real syndrome by britain until most sufferers ,and thier families , had long since died of old age , merely so no apology or recompense would be sought , nor any ensuing blame could be rested on the shoulders of any living politician or military leader of that era .) this is why they are making a scapegoat of you , you are exposing the truth to the masses , there are many other (unrelated) wrongs permitted by our leaders in britain that are banned by other countries ( eg, additives in food/drink known to harm , banned by canada , usa , australia et al) why does britain fly in the face of caution and continue to allow the use of such additives ,- i can only surmise that money must fit into the equation somewhere , probably where it cant be found ,fishy .
dr wakefield for next pm please .

Peddling what crap exactly? His findings have been replicated numerous times. Dr. Wakefield is appealing the General Medical Council decision. Attorney James Moody — who has filed a complaint for perjury against four of the main witnesses against Dr. Wakefield — calls the GMC hearing against him a “show trial” . . . “an orgy of prosecutorial misconduct, false testimony, and mischaracterization of appropriate clinical care of desperately sick children spun as “unethical” research. . . .” (Afterword to Dr. Wakefield’s new book, “Callous Disregard,” p. 268. See http://www.callousdisregard.com and Amazon reviews.

Professor John Walker-Smith, a world leading gastroenterologist, who also put caring for the sick children above political concerns, also had his license taken away, so unfair!

The issues here go beyond vaccines. They concern the public’s right to know, to make informed choices, not be dictated to by the state which is in tight with pharmaceutical interests whose interest is profits over safety. It is the truth that will protect children from unsafe vaccines. Dr. Wakefield told the truth, wouldn’t back down, and some people didn’t like that. Have you seen Merck’s hit list for doctors? http://aftermathnews.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/vioxx-maker-merck-and-co-drew-up-doctor-hit-list/

I have been following the antics of Dr Andrew Wakefield for several years now, firstly as a person with 19 years experience in working with children and adults with autism, ASD, Asperger’s (or whatever today’s new term is) and secondly as a qualified chemist (not pharmacist) with an avid interest in pharmacology and toxicology.

After studying the medical histories of 86 persons between the ages of 6 and 27 who have been diagnosed with autism, et al, that I have directly worked with, 49 have received the MMR vaccine. Of those who did not receive the vaccine, 20 come from families who practise an alternative lifestyle, i.e, vegetarians (and variations thereof), habitual cannabis users, refusal for modern medical practices and use herbal/naturopath remedies, and so on.

The compound Thimerosal has been blamed for all types of conditions, ailments, etc. The same has been said for squalene, which is contained in the Swine Flu virus H1N1 employed in Europe and Canada. Both of these organic compounds have been criticised without proper SCIENTIFIC studies by the misinformed scaremongers.

The strange thing is that squalene is a naturally occuring compound with a concentration of between 40ug/g and 500ug/g in the human body. You had better stay way from olive oil though – its concentration of squalene can reach 7mg/g. Hence the research into squalene as a cancer prevention agent in Meditterrean cultures.

Some people are gullible! Just believe any alarmist blog you find on the internet and act stupidly.

What does your comment on thimerosal have to do with Dr. Wakefield? Your thinking… or at least your comment appears to me to be all disjointed. You start by saying you’ve been following Wakefield for several years, then you fail to elaborate on that point and jump off onto an entirely different topic. Please try to be a little more consistent in your argument if you wish for anyone to take you seriously. If the objective of your comment is to show that people are gullible because you have read several people hypothesize thimerosal is the cause of autism, then I suggest you focus on material that backs that assertion, rather than fumbling about with unrelated details. On the other-hand, I respectfully consider such an objective to be slightly off topic here.

“After studying the medical histories of 86 persons between the ages of 6 and 27 who have been diagnosed with autism, et al, that I have directly worked with, 49 have received the MMR vaccine. Of those who did not receive the vaccine, 20 come from families who practise an alternative lifestyle, i.e, vegetarians (and variations thereof), habitual cannabis users, refusal for modern medical practices and use herbal/naturopath remedies, and so on.”

So only 7 of the 86 people were people who didn’t take drugs or vaccines? What is your point? Please elaborate.

No one stands up against the establishments and “gets rich”. It goes against human logic to think that ONE doctor (Dr. Wakefield) who went against the norm suddenly became rich. From whom did he receive money? The billionaire anti-vaccine movement??- oh wait, a multibillion dollar anti-vaccine movement doesn’t exist. There is a multi-billion dollar establishment involved in all this: the medical community comprised of drug companies, the CDC, AAP, HHS, etc……….

Never in all my life would I have ever imagined or been willing to believe that there were so many paranoid, reactionary, frightened, and downright delusional people living in the West in the 21st century as the people cheering on Dr. Wakefield and his so-called research.

From 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 38. This is undeniably a global pandemic. This is not paranoia, reactionary, nor delusional. There is no known “cause” for autism. Yet the whole “genetic” research is a waste of resource in my opinion, because diseases “known” to be caused by genetics have only grown equal to population increases.

All vaccines are designed to create an autoimmune response. The desired response is to protect the recipient from the specific disease of the vaccination.

I am not aware of any one study that states that vaccines absolutely causes autism; however, there is so much circumstantial evidence that it is only prudent to seek answers to this being a possible culprit.

It is also undeniable that vaccines are produced by a multi billion dollar pharmaceutical industry. It becomes even more suspect when this industry repeatedly states “there is no link between autism and vaccines” and justifies this statement based on poor and at times potentially unethical scientific studies that they themselves fund.

In the USA individual states created laws that vaccines containing thimerasol could no longer be used in their respective state. The federal government made a law that no state could modify, alter, or change the federal vaccine standard. Who paid for this federal legislation, the parents of autistic kids or the pharmaceutical industry?

Hopefully there will be a true and “unbiased” look at this possible connection before everyone is autistic.

I am not a scientist, but I have heard somewhere that approx 25% of people carry some form of herpes virus in there system. Sometimes this virus may manifest itself in cold sores, or skin disorders like eczema, and sometimes it just lays absolutely dormant. I would like to see a study on what effects an autoimmune response to a given vaccine might have on this virus, and the prevelance of this virus in those diagnosed with autism. For those about to attack this post, I welcome your criticism, with the condition that you also post an idea. That is what is desperately needed intelligent thought turned into intelligent action. An attack without any counter intuitive idea is just a waste of space.

“Never in all my life would I have ever imagined or been willing to believe that there were so many paranoid, reactionary, frightened, and downright delusional people living in the West in the 21st century…”

John’s statemement is a good example of how both sides see each other.

One side is paranoid, reactionary & frightened about any reported incidence of disease and blindly trusts in the system of the vaccination industrial complex, where every day is like playing Russian Roulette if you are not vaccinated with all the latest options.

The other side is paranoid, reactionary & frightened by the system of the vaccination industrial complex who see the use of vaccine as a form of Russian Roulette.

You lot talk as if Andrew Wakefield is against all vaccinations – he isn’t, he actually patented his own measles vaccine in readiness for when he discredited the MMR. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not particularly in favour of the MMR but Wakefield didn’t do anyone any favours when he published a study which he had done on 12 children (can you believe that?? 12 children – that’s not a study). Also he went completely against any paediatric ethics when he subjected those children to lumbar punctures and colonoscopies in the name of research. He also benefited massively financially from the work he did. Quite right that he got struck off

So très amusant when one of the great unwashed visit CHS to vent their spleens and spout forth ranting nonsense.

“You lot” – really darling, that is making assumptions. ~ Whatever can you mean.

“Andrew Wakefield” …. “actually patented his own measles vaccine in readiness for when he discredited the MMR”

Regrettably one of the most palpable pieces of tosh – a fabrication of Brian Deer’s. What Wakefield came up with, darling, could never replace the so divine MMR. Wakefield came up not with a prophylactic vaccine but a means of clearing measles virus from the body after infection – not before – so utter tosh sweetie for Bri Bri to claim that treatment could replace anything. But it was the first effective treatment for measles – something which could have saved millions of third world children’s lives – so Mr Deer can be proud to be absolutely fabulously responsible for all those deaths.

“a study which he had done on 12 children (can you believe that?? 12 children – that’s not a study).”

Really darling, you are so drôle. A clinical case series is a study dear. So we are afraid it is. Sorry to disappoint. And it was an “early report” – written right up at the top of every one of its pages – one of the classic forms of papers in medicine – warning professionals to be on the lookout for something potentially new for further study.

“Also he went completely against any paediatric ethics when he subjected those children to lumbar punctures and colonoscopies in the name of research.”

That is not what the Judge decided when Andrew Wakefield’s colleague, Professor Walker-Smith was completely exonerated last year of all the same charges. It was not research but these were clinically necessary investigations to find out what was wrong with the children and treat them – and it worked – something the great unwashed oikies seem to overlook in their eagerness to rant about others as a sop to their own inadequacies and inferiorities, darling.

And it was of course Mr Deer who withheld the documents from the GMC investigation which revealed they all did have ethics approval. And that they did have ethics approval is what the Judge seems to have agreed with too. So if Mr Deer had not withheld those crucial documents there would have been no GMC hearing darling – how sweet.

Do come again soon, darling.

Normal service resumed soon – ED has popped out for a swanky five hour lunch.